Get the Dirt on Facebook Friends

Curious if any of your Facebook friends have criminal records? There’s an easy way to find out, at least until April 30.

Curious if any of your Facebook friends have criminal records? There’s an easy way to find out, at least until April 30.

The Friend Verifier application is celebrating its third anniversary with the #StaySafe2015 initiative, in which users can pay a flat fee to scan their entire Facebook friends list, no matter the size, for criminal records.

Friend Verifier also offers a free scan of Facebook friends for sex offenders, as well as the option of running individual background checks for a charge.

CEO Joe Penora said in a release announcing #StaySafe2015:

Facebook has truly enriched our lives, making communication and sharing life’s precious moments so easy. We want Friend Verifier to be a companion tool to Facebook — a tool that empowers women and parents to safeguard not only their own safety on social media, but their families, as well. We are your social life anti-virus.

One of the most frequent comments we’ve received is that social media users should only accept friend requests from people they know. Most rely that solely following this mantra will keep them safe. However we must all do our due diligence when reconnecting with people from our past. I found out that a former high school teacher of mine and a fellow former student were both convicted for child pornography. Those are two people I knew and would have gladly accepted a friend request from prior to knowing their convictions. I urge people: Don’t take anything for granted. Make sure you use caution when inviting people into your social lives.